Sen. Reed asks Obama for manufacturing hub

In an effort to reinvigorate manufacturing in Rhode Island, U.S. Sen. Jack Reed is urging President Barack Obama to create a new manufacturing hub in Rhode Island.

During his State of the Union address, Obama outlined a plan to make America a magnet for jobs and manufacturing so that our nation can continue to build things the rest of the world buys. The president called on Congress to provide $1 billion to open 15 manufacturing innovation institutes to help develop and showcase new manufacturing technologies.

“I strongly support the president’s plan to spur manufacturing and urge him to create one of these new hubs in Rhode Island,” said Reed. “Rhode Island is the birthplace of the industrial revolution and would make a great site for one of these new, advanced manufacturing centers. There will be many regions vying for this. But I am hopeful that the state, along with our universities and local businesses, could partner to form an effective coalition where industry, academia and government collaborate on advanced manufacturing.”

The Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan think tank, has been a strong proponent of creating these types of manufacturing hubs.